I know I'm going to take a lot of flogging for this, but someone's got to say it and say it early. Someone has to tell the troops that the Commander has died. Just don't shoot the messenger, okay?

StarCraft: Brood War is dead. It was pronounced DOA on February 17th, 2010.

I know this might come as quite a shock. We all expected it to live a full, happy life (is 12 years a full, happy life for an antique video game?). Maybe a few of you want to wear black. Maybe some people need to shut the door and just have a good cry.

But the fact of the matter remains. StarCraft: Brood War died of natural causes. Even if the death certificate might not be issued for a few months, the truth is still there. It had a good run, and it certainly brought us a lot of joy, but everything has to die sometime, right?

Oh, I know what you're saying. "But I still love SCBW! I'm going to play it just as much as I play SC2!" Well, that's where you're wrong. SCBW didn't go to a farm upstate, and it's certainly not traveling the world. It's in the backyard, six feet under; where your parents put it when it started to smell.

TeamLiquid wrote an article this week about entitled [SC2B] Moving On. Of course, their article is an opinion, and they're entitled to it. As am I. The article talks about how StarCraft 2 will never live up to the legacy of StarCraft: Brood War. How it will never provide us the same quirks because it doesn't have the same "stupid" feel to it. There's a long-winded analogy about a football kicker and the fact that a repetitive task taking ages to accomplish is somehow extraordinary. Who's to say that moving on to a new, more exciting task that is difficult to accomplish in itself isn't exordinary? Why do we have to keep kicking balls around (well?) when we could be kicking missiles (I don't think I would recommend this sport)?

I've sort-of feared this day and hoped it would never come. When the older community and original StarCraft fans who have traditionally followed the micro came home one day and realized the beta was out and the sequel was upon us. I think we've all been waiting ten years for that, but some were in denial. I really started dreading it during my interview with iNcontrol when he told me that StarCraft 2 would bomb and he'd continue playing StarCraft: Brood War. It was a hell of an eye-opener.


All I can say in response to those comments, to the comments of those who look on StarCraft 2 skeptically and say "maybe I'll stick with the original" is that this game is what you've been staring at your monitor searching for since 1998. The sequel to StarCraft. Despite all the comments about Dustin Browder's ability coming from a Commmand & Conquer background, despite all the haranguing about WarCraft In Space and through all the BlizzCon discussions (and the TeamLiquid fiery hellbath that was my insistence that the Queen's Larvae ability was not overpowered...), I've been warning you. I've talked about how Zerg needs more mechanics (and still does), and I've soothed you over the loss of certain SCBW units. But I've dropped hints here and there, right?

Don't tell me you were truly caught unawares. The sheer brilliance of Warp-In must have had some impact. Massive units that can be attacked by air-attack only units as well as ground units. The sheer brilliance of a counter like that. Cliff walkers? Holy cripes. The signs have been there if you were looking. Maybe you didn't notice SCBW starting to look a little pale and sluggish? If the Battle Reports didn't clue you in, then you're just a lost cause.

Whatever the case, it's clear that the King has fallen. There's a new kid in town, and he's a fast shooter. So go buy some lillies and maybe go grab those tissues out of the bathroom, because one era has ended and another has begun.